Looking broadly at the current telecommunications landscape, Communications Service Providers (CSPs), consumers and enterprises are primed to take advantage of new possibilities. In this paradigm, bandwidth, density and energy efficiency continue to improve, thanks to 5G. However, now CSPs need to shift focus and address the growing complexity of the network core as they can no longer compete by simply offering the same data, voice and messaging services to everyone. Instead, CSPs need to embrace a much wider range of services that stem from the network core, especially as 5G becomes more fully implemented.
Bypassing core innovation challenges
Successive mobility generations improved bandwidth and coverage. For the core and its operations, those generations and waves of packetization and virtualization have produced layers of complexity, making small improvements, but never a transformative gain in agility, efficiency and time-to-market.
While reliable, CSPs are often limited in their ability to innovate and execute because of the static nature of today’s network cores. Clearly, more malleable ecosystems that utilize cloud resource optimization solutions or cognitive intelligence should be set in place for present and future 5G deployments. In addition, to execute within these more advanced ecosystems, CSPs need to implement new ways to create and deliver services, including continuous software delivery and operations in any cloud environment.
To do this economically and securely, while serving more devices and navigating an increase in traffic, is a major challenge for CSPs. 5G adds to the difficulties that operators face as they determine how to rapidly create new applications and services. 5G deployments might require the management of individual network slice characteristics, such as latency, bandwidth and security, to support different services. It may also require re-training or new innovative business models to pursue new markets. Further, all new applications and services must be done while protecting the CSP’s brand value, particularly in terms of reliability for mission-critical applications like public safety and factory robotics.
By building for openness and flexibility, CSPs can enable partners, third parties, and business model innovation in the ecosystem market’s digital value chain. Together, the ecosystem can create compelling applications or services.
An “optimal” core will fulfill these key challenges experienced by CSPs:
- Beating existing and emerging competitors, while continuing to serve remaining telecom and new ecosystem markets – all while turning a profit.
- Enabling deployments without limitations and full scalability onto bare metal or cloud (private and public, central and edge), and move workloads around.
- Creating highly reliable, low risk services, even when disrupting the market with innovative offers.
Ensuring your core for the future, now
COVID-19 fast-tracked the evolution of our networks and services; with millions of people relying on internet every day to connect, be it for work, school, fun, medicine, gaming, or entertainment.
The result? A shift in customers’ expectations of their CSPs, as well as how quickly CSPs need to act. For example, consumers enjoy many communication choices and embark on new ways to share augmented experiences, through platforms like Zoom and gaming, while enterprises enjoy a broadening set of platforms (WebEx, Teams, Slack, etc.) and enhanced operations that tie in with Industry 4.0. However, all are seeking to expand their communications from people to things, while protecting communications from increasing cyber-security threats - placing high significance on the reliability, agility, and digitalization of the network core.
For this reason, network cores need to be flexible, dynamic and simplified to help CSPs serve their communities with fresh opportunities that arise from the intersection of 5G, cloud and automation.
To simplify the core, two design principles must be applied - building it with cloud-native technology and equipping it with extreme automation, ensuring the core has three key characteristics:
- Can utilize cloud-native technology to seamlessly deploy without limitations across bare metal and cloud as a true software product. This lets CSPs deploy it on any cloud (private or public) and deploy it anywhere (centralized or at the edge), using virtual machines or containers, running on the cloud or bare metal. This gives the freedom to choose the deployment model and to rearrange the network as business needs change.
- Can ensure that CSPs can profit from opportunities by using cognitive intelligence (AI/ML), automation, and other web-scale infrastructure advances. It delivers the innovation engine needed to generate strategic business advantage.
- Can meet strict reliability and security requirements determined by CSPs, such as the world’s first nationwide launch of standalone 5G at T-Mobile US.
With such benefits for CSPs and their networks and operations, placing more emphasis on the core will provide the business value they look for as they prepare for full 5G. A strong, simplified core that is then integrated, deployed and operated on any cloud, allows them to serve, optimize, innovate, execute, and create. In the case of 5G, a cloud-native core is not a siloed function of the network, but a system that earns its own special designation as all services either come from it or are connected by it - positioning the core as the future of telecoms.
